Generally, information handling devices (or embedded devices) such as mobile phones or tablet computers involve the use of firmware-based images. Conventionally, image files corresponding to an intended geographical region (for sale/distribution), or to another identifying aspect of a device, are installed at manufacture. Put another way, in order to support a preload image, manufacturers currently tend to include one image per country on an information handling device. It can thus become very costly and time consuming to create and maintain a large number of unique images, with considerable complexity being imparted to the process overall.
In contexts such as those described above, conventional arrangements can also involve the use of multiple partitions, wherein one partition is accorded for each possible customizing option. This, by extension, can occupy an inordinately a large amount of valuable space on a device.
Generally, it can further be noted that information handling devices have OS images that are monolithic in nature. A process of compiling and building produces an image that contains needed components; however, variations in devices (especially, in their identifying aspects as noted above) normally warrant more patches and updates to be provided that are unique in nature. In other words, to the extent that information handling devices may need to include images or other components that are uniquely tailored to one or more identifying aspects of the device, one or more patches or updates may be needed by way of altering or amending the OS or its functioning in order that such unique variations may adequately be supported. Conventional solutions, accordingly, tend to involve binary patches or partition/image fragmentation in order to permit discrete elements to be updated. This can prove to be an immensely complex and costly task, given the possibly wide range of variability at hand.